Casimir Funk

Hello! My name is Casimir Funk. I want to tell you the story of how a curious boy from Poland helped change the way we think about food and health. I was born on February 23rd, 1884, in a city called Warsaw, which is in Poland. From a very young age, I was completely fascinated by the world around me. I always had questions about how things worked, and I loved learning new things. My biggest interest was in science. It felt like a giant puzzle just waiting to be solved. Because of this love for science, when I was old enough, I decided to go to university to study chemistry. I was especially interested in the tiny, invisible things that make up everything, including our own bodies. I wanted to understand exactly what our bodies needed to stay strong and healthy.

After I completed my university studies in 1904, my journey as a scientist truly began. I had the opportunity to work in different laboratories all over Europe, learning from many brilliant people. In 1911, I took a position at a very important place in London, England, called the Lister Institute. This was where my most famous work started. At that time, many doctors were trying to solve the puzzle of a serious illness known as beriberi. This disease made people feel very weak and tired. I learned about an interesting clue: people who ate polished white rice often got sick with beriberi, but those who ate whole brown rice stayed healthy. This made me think that there must be something special in the outer layer, or husk, of the brown rice that was missing from the white rice. To test my idea, I set up many experiments in my lab. After a lot of careful work, I was able to separate a special substance from the rice husks. The most exciting part was when I gave this substance to birds that were sick with a similar illness. They got better! It was like finding a hidden key to good health.

In the year 1912, after my discovery with the rice husks, I had a very big idea. I began to believe that the substance I found was not the only one of its kind. I realized that there must be a whole group of special substances that our bodies need to get from food to prevent different kinds of sicknesses. These substances were absolutely necessary for life. I decided they needed a name. Because I thought they were a type of chemical called an 'amine' and because they were 'vital'—which means essential for life—I combined the words to create a new one. I called them 'vital amines.' Soon after, I shortened this to a simpler word that I invented: 'vitamine.' Today, you know them as vitamins! I suggested that other diseases, like scurvy that sailors often got from not having fresh fruit, were also caused by a lack of these different vitamines. My idea was revolutionary, and it helped start a whole new field of science focused on nutrition and understanding how the food we eat keeps us well.

My journey took me to a new country a few years later. In 1915, I moved across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. I quickly grew to love my new home, and in 1920, I was very proud to officially become an American citizen. But my scientific work didn't stop once I had discovered vitamins. I spent the rest of my career exploring other important things our bodies create and use, such as hormones, which are messengers that tell different parts of your body what to do. I also spent a lot of time researching ways to fight serious diseases. My goal was always the same, no matter what I was studying: I wanted to use the power of science to help people lead healthier, longer, and happier lives.

I lived a long life full of exciting scientific discovery and passed away in 1967. I lived to be 83 years old. Even though I am no longer here, my work is all around you every single day. Every time you hear about getting Vitamin C from eating oranges or Vitamin D from playing in the sun, you can remember the curious scientist from Poland who first imagined these substances and gave them their name. I am remembered for helping the world understand that eating a balanced diet full of different nutrients is one of the most important keys to staying healthy.